Getting to First Base

Boomer Sooner! (Ouch…)

I absolutely, with every cell of my body, despise the University of Oklahoma. I hate them, and especially their football program. They make me sick.

Does that sound irrational at all? It shouldn’t – I’m a Nebraska fan. When I hate on Oklahoma, it’s carrying on the legacy of a truly fabulous rivalry. My Huskers and the Sooners have produced some really amazing games over the course of many decades, games that still get shown at least once a year on ESPN Classic, and of course – The Game of the Century. You know a rivalry is good when a chapter of it gets a title with that many capital letters.

It is my duty as a proud Nebraskan to despise those Sooners, and I do. But tonight, everything changes. I am rooting HARD for Oklahoma to beat Florida in the BCS title game. Tonight, the Sooners are not my sworn enemy; instead they are proudly representing my beloved Big XII conference. And even when my Huskers don’t have a memorable season, one thing I can always fall back on is pride in the Big XII. I think it’s a wonderful conference, and I always root for its teams*.  To heck with the SEC!

*In fact, picking the Big XII to win bowl games is about half of my Bowl Pick ‘Em strategy. My system is not very complicated – Always pick the Big XII, always pick against Notre Dame, BYU, and a few others, always pick Boston College to win. Place the most confidence in Big XII games. That’s about it, and it kind of works!

The game is in only a few hours, and I am excited. This is disgusting, rooting for Oklahoma, but it’s my duty as the ultimate conference homer. It’s an unpleasant job, but somebody’s got to do it!